


Against Purity

by Left_Handed_Darkness



Series: The assorted journals of a Blood Mage [1]
Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft
Genre: Biased Narrator, Gen, In Character, Meta, Other, POV First Person, Unreliable Narrator, in-character essay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 21:54:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13912944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Left_Handed_Darkness/pseuds/Left_Handed_Darkness
Summary: A Blood Mage of the Sin'dorei has some particularly spicy takes on the matter of Quel'dorei, fel magic, and why meditation won't save you from withering to death.





	Against Purity

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I have RP Thoughts whilst cooking, not too long after discussing the idea of in-character academic rivalries with a good friend. Granted, it's been a long time since I played Warcraft 3, however it and (early) TBC were major thematic influences in my main character; one Khairan Sunshard, botherer of phoenixes, mugger of demons, and all-around snarky bastard. He's a character I can slip into easily and with little prompting - just give me an elf-related topic from WoW and chances are that he'll have some particularly strong opinions on the matter.
> 
> I've always loved the oldschool Blood Elven theme of survival through mastering dark and dangerous forces. It strikes me as courageous and defiant; that against all odds, they set out to conquer the challenges set ahead, no matter how terrifying, taboo, or deadly. They do what they believe they have to, and I think it's sad that more wasn't explored with it. Likewise, I found the circumstances that drove them to such extremes compelling. It's something that I like to play around with when I'm writing or roleplaying Khai.
> 
> Still, it's worth noting that this is from Khairan's perspective, and again he has particularly strong biases and opinions. This is not the place to argue over correct interpretations of lore, as it concerns the opinions of the character - who doesn't have the option of referring to the wiki/chronicle/blizzcon Q&A panels. However, I am entirely happy to accept suggestions/counterpoints/topics for him to discuss in-character in other works.

In my experience, there is no higher form of vanity than the notion of  _ purity _ ; be it physical, spiritual, or ideological. It is both the final holdout of those who realise that they have been beaten, and also a perverse elitism that holds that one’s inferiority and obstinance is is a virtue of sorts. The very notion that an aversity to change and growth is something to be cherished is a dangerous sentiment; the  _ pure _ become predictable, constrained by both their limitations of choice, and unable to adapt to new circumstances. They plod on, claiming to be taking the moral high ground, when truly they are clinging to orthodoxy in the face of new evidence. And in some cases, those virtues put them in physical danger.

In this case I am talking about the remaining Quel’dorei; those who consider their own health and survival to be secondary to notions of the sacrosanct. They will tell you that they remain strong and  _ uncorrupted _ by fel energies - yet they have not been open about the suffering that such a choice entails, nor the mortal toll that has added to the casualties of the Fall.

You see, human magi describe my people in coarse, inaccurate and sometimes downright offensive terms. They see the people of Quel’thalas as frail, wilting beings that are hopelessly “addicted” to magic, and - with the dawn of the Sin’dorei - as the pitiful thralls of demonic forces. As well as being a grave insult to our people, this is wholly inaccurate; an addiction is an acquired thing, a developed dependency on mind-altering substances that cause the imbiber harm. Whereas the elven condition is a wholly different beast altogether.

The ancestors of my people basked in the energies of the Well of Eternity, a font of unmatched arcane power. Its energies suffused the land, altering all life that dwelled so close to it. Over time, the ancestral Kaldorei adapted to this magic-rich environment, coming to feed off the raw mana that was a key part of their environment. Over time it became a vital part of them; an adaptation of which is extant in  _ all _ contemporary elves. Just as a red frenzy cannot survive outside of saltwater, an elf cannot survive without a strong source of mana.

Which brings me back to the Quel’dorei, a fraction of the Thalassian population who claim that they can abstain from what is just as vital to our kind as food or air. Yet the reality of their situation is entirely different altogether; rather than leading lives of enlightened contemplation and self-discipline as they claim, the fact is that one cannot be sustained by prayer and meditation, and the eventual result is that those who lead such lives end up scavenging for what limited sources of arcane magic they can find. All whilst patting themselves on the backs for their self-inflicted suffering, of which is hidden from human allies who do not realise that the people of Quel’thalas aren’t all frail, gaunt-looking things.

And as I said before, elves cannot survive without magic - but what I have not yet elaborated on are the consequences.

An elf without mana starves - not just on a psychological level as humans expect - but physically also. The body weakens and decays, the mind grows dim and feral until there is nothing left but mindless  _ hunger _ . And if that hunger cannot be sated, the eventual consequence is death. To abstain is not only inherently arrogant, but undeniably and unforgivably  _ stupid _ . It’s a long, slow, and undignified death, one that claims the elderly, the very young, and the ailing first - a fact that lends a twisted form of reputability to the Quel’dorei reactionaries. When all the surviving Quel’dorei appear to be in good health, it appears that one  _ can _ forgo the arcane and live a healthy life - which is not only incorrect, but also leads to dangerous misconceptions.

Some say that the exile of these reactionaries was an overreaction, however this issue is not one of political unity, but of public health and  _ survival _ . If such an ideology gained mainstream traction in Quel’thalas, the already high casualty rate from the Fall would grow, as Sin’dorei who are in poor health would quickly succumb to mana starvation - further endangering our efforts to recover from a genocidal assault.

As it stands, we are without a viable replacement for the Sunwell. Whilst the arcane sanctums across Quel’thalas draw magic from the damaged ley lines that once led to it, this is not enough to cover the needs of neither our people nor our infrastructure; and with so many deaths, mundane labour would not be sufficient to allow us to rebuild  _ or _ defend our borders. Likewise fel magic is one of the few forces that is potent enough to sustain us - without it, we will die. That is a hard fact, and one that transcends any societal taboo or superstition. And that most certainly includes the ones possessed by the Quel’dorei.

Yet the human kingdoms to the south have no understanding of the elven condition nor situation, despite having “accepted” the Quel’dorei into their lands. As said before, they see us in terms that emphasise illness or a moral failing. Outside of the Kirin Tor - their only real arcane order - arcane magic is seen as untrustworthy and tainted by unholy forces. Education on matters magical is poor, which leads to further misinformation and prejudices, particularly when the primary source of such comes from the Church of the Holy Light. Fel magic is outright outlawed, and its practitioners forced into hiding - and left scrounging for what little information they can gather, leading to particularly ignorant and unsafe practices.

Ultimately, humans see the Quel’dorei as a virtuous few; defectors from a kingdom of corruption and excess, of whom forswore their tainted heritage in favour of a life of penance and simplicity. This is a bias added to by their own distrust and misunderstanding of the chaotic energies we now  _ must _ consume. To humans, fel magic and its users are universally evil, power-obsessed tyrants who would sacrifice their firstborn for a few drops of demon blood - and they could not care less about the circumstances that led people to it in the first place.

This external viewpoint not only reinforces the Quel’dorei perspective that they are indeed on the path of virtue, but also places judgement on those who do not hold it - or choose to return to Quel’thalas to seek actual aid. Yet not only does it reinforce the bubble they exist in, but it also imparts a sense of self-loathing; that one’s very physical being will forever mark them as not good enough, not  _ strong _ enough to live without something they are reminded is an unnatural “crutch”. That their very existence is one of temptation and corruption, and that they should strive to overcome what is a part of a long and proud heritage of magical mastery.

At the same time, it rewards dangerous abstinent behaviour; that Quel’dorei who are not like the “other elves” are rewarded for making that distinction. Purity has not only become a flag that they flock to so that they can distinguish themselves from the Sin’dorei, but also as something that turns a suicidal mistake into a something palatable to allies of whom accept them on a conditional basis only. “Allies” whose last representitives to the Kingdom of Quel’thalas were a bigot and a spy respectively.

-Blood Mage Khairan vi’a Belore’Shalarath.


End file.
